Electronic Tools

The first playtests of Dungeons & Dragons were by Gary Gygax, his kids, and his friends. The industry has evolved considerably since then and playtesting along with it. A new playtesting methodology was borrowed from software development, and it's likely to influence how game companies produce products in the future. &nbsp...READ MORE

The advent of blockchain technology has effectively given the intangible real, permanent value. When it comes to fantasy games largely relegated to the imaginary realm, blockchain technology could now ensure your character's +3 sword is truly unique...and could even be sold to someone else. &nbsp...READ MORE

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! Sales for Dungeons & Dragons up over last year once again, Dungeon of the Mad Mage previews, a new Twitch extension to make D&D streams more interactive, a new RPG based on the board game Root on its way, official Night of the Living Dead board game on its way, and more! &nbsp...READ MORE

Welcome everyone, Jason here with a quick summary of several recent releases from some notable Patreon Creators. In this Patreon release roundup you will find new maps showing unexplored areas, new battlemats to enrich combat, new backgrounds for your players to use and new locations for your game. &nbsp...READ MORE

To make our dreams come true, sometimes the dream must be open to interpretation. Do you want a job in tabletop gaming? Is the “tabletop” portion an absolute? There are good jobs that are important parts of the gaming industry but are not directly tabletop gaming jobs. In this RPG jobs roundup, Mike Tresca and I curated several opportunities that exist in the periphery of the traditional tabletop gaming industry. All of that said, be aware that these job openings may close without warning. They will be filled; the only question is will it be by you? &nbsp...READ MORE

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! Even more Dragon Heist products announced, Pathfinder 2nd Ed playtest update, new SRDs for Pathfinder and Starfinder, a new RPG-themed horror comic series from Image, Fortnite coming to tabletop, and more! &nbsp...READ MORE

One of the interesting aspects of owning a 3D printer is that you come to appreciate the difference between a digital sculpt and its physical counterpart. Not all 3D sculpts are made for printing, and the consequences of using a digital sculpt that's not built for 3D printers can be disastrous for the end product. &nbsp...READ MORE

You might recall that Roll20 (owned by the Orr Group), a popular online platform for role-playing games, also happens to own an esport team. I asked Nolan T. Jones, co-owner of the Orr Group, what he thought about esports and D&D being back in the spotlight. &nbsp...READ MORE

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! A big update to Roll20 with exciting new features, more previews for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Pathfinder 2nd Edition, ENnie Award news, a new game system from Harlem Unbound designer Chris Spivey, and more!

We previously discussed the "digital line" when a physical product's value online dips to below one U.S. dollar in value, but miniatures are a bit more complicated. 3D printers continue to come down in price, but how cheap do they need to be before the miniature and terrain market is impacted?

The recent crash in pricing for digital comics provides a data point for the future of electronic versions of tabletop books, 3D-printed miniatures, and terrain. How long can retailers keep their price points for physical product before the dam breaks?

Ernest Cline's Ready Player One book and movie created a virtual world where winning a game could result in personal riches. There's precedent for a video game awarding real-life riches going all the way back to the 1980s with the Atari 2600, and it begins with a game called Swordquest.

In Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, real life is intertwined with a virtual overlay that permeates all of society. In the book and film based on it, James Halliday co-created the Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation (OASIS) a Massively Multiplayer Online Simulation Game (MMOSG), and its success made him a billionaire. It's hard to imagine now, but we nearly had our own OASIS with an immersive virtual world where every player had an avatar: Second Life.
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February is a month of cold temperatures and warm feelings of love and romance. If you’re looking for something to do with friends when it’s too cold to go out, why not stay in and take a look at the Romance Trilogy?

There are a few fairly simple elements needed to make a solid RPG starter set, and while Warhammer Fantasy RPG 4E’s attempt won’t blow any minds it absolutely nails the fundamentals that new players need to get a game running.

After raising $2,121,465, Strongholds & Followers might be the most anticipated Kickstarter RPG (at least until the next record is broken). Of course, the bulk of the money raised went to the “Streaming” part of the Kickstarter so creator Matt Colville could get a proper studio for his very popular YouTube channel. The book definitely fills a need within the 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons landscape.